Computer apparatus and methods supporting different categories of users

ABSTRACT

The computer apparatus and methods of the preferred embodiment uses computer technology in a unique way to motivate children to devote more time to educational and cultural enrichment. In the preferred embodiment, educational material is provided at a child&#39;s local computer under control of a central computer system connected to it over a computer network. On completing a particular educational task, the child is rewarded with a certain number of points. Points that the child accumulates are stored centrally, and at least some of the points can be redeemed towards the purchase of goods and services offered through the system of the preferred embodiment by its commercial participants. The purchasing transactions are also administered by the central computer. Parents, preferably, use the system to support their children&#39;s purchasing activity financially and to select content available for presentation to the child. In other embodiments, the disclosed apparatus and methods can be used for purposes unrelated to education of children, and distribution of functionality between the central and local computers may be different, including wholly local implementations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, computer technology has advanced to a great extent and continuesto develop in giant steps. Powerful computer systems are available toconsumers at reasonable prices. Computer networks, examples of which arethe Internet and America Online™, are accessible at reasonable cost toall. Digital graphics, images, audio, video, and multimedia are widelyavailable on discs and over networks. Software tools and languages, C++and Java, for example, are now powerful enough to enable softwaredevelopers to build sophisticated applications, including those runningon networks.

The processing, storage, multimedia, and networking capabilities ofmodern computers, such as personal computers, are perfectly suited forpresenting educational and cultural content in an interactive, creative,and interesting fashion. However, educational and cultural applicationsof computers have not reached their full capacity and there is a need todevelop computer technology that facilitates more extensive use ofcomputers for educational and cultural purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to computer technology, including computernetworks, and the preferred embodiment is directed to the implementationof computer technology for educational and cultural enrichment.

The computer system and method of the preferred embodiment uses computertechnology in a unique way to motivate children to devote more time toeducational and cultural enrichment. It should be noted that althoughthe referred embodiment relates to a system aimed at the education ofchildren, as understood by persons skilled in the art, otherapplications of the disclosed system are also envisioned here.

In general, in the preferred embodiment, educational material isprovided at a child's local computer (also referred to as a "user'scomputer") under control of a central computer system. Children's localcomputer and a central computer are connected over a computer network.On completing a particular educational task, a child is rewarded with acertain number of points. Children's accumulated points are storedcentrally. Points are based on criteria consistent with the educationalmaterial and, for example, are awarded based on the level of difficultyof a given task, the child's level of performance, and otherconsiderations, such as progress demonstrated in a certain disciplineover time.

Points that a child accumulates by completing educational exercises canbe redeemed towards the purchase of goods and services offered throughthe system of the preferred embodiment by its commercial participants.Purchasing transactions are also administered by the central computerand can proceed in a variety of ways. For example, the child may ordergoods and services by selecting from menus presented by the centralcomputer, which, in turn, orders the selected items by telephone,e-mail, mail, or otherwise from a vendor or distributor for delivery.The central computer may also send a message to the local computer toprint out certificates redeemable at participating vendors of goods andservices. Also, points may be redeemed by downloading requested goodsavailable in digital electronic form, such as software, games, music,and video. It is preferred that the offered goods and services be itemsdesirable by the children so that the prospect of obtaining these itemsis a motivation for the children to diligently pursue the educationalmaterials available in the system.

Parents have their own way of accessing the system of the preferredembodiment, and it is preferred that the parents' password not be givento a child, who has his own, usually different password. Parentspreferably use the system for several purposes. First, parents supporttheir children's purchasing activity financially. Preferably, the parentauthorizes the system to periodically (e.g. monthly) allow purchases tobe made through the redemption of the child's points, up to a certainlimit, using the parents' credit card account, or makes other paymentarrangements (e.g., though the use of electronic cash or direct accountwithdrawal). Preferably, part of the parents' payment is used as aperiodic service fee for the service provided by the preferredembodiment of this invention, while the rest is used for financing theredemption of points by the child for goods and services. Moreover, theparent can authorize a system-initiated increase in the purchasing powerof the child--a "bonus"--by, for example, permitting certain advertisingmessages to be displayed to the child as the child uses the system.

In the preferred embodiment, the parent controls the content of thematerial available for presentation to the child. For example, theparent may limit the difficulty of educational presentations to be madeto the child by specifying the age of the child, or by indicating anexplicit desired level of difficulty. Also, other considerations, suchas whether to emphasize mathematics, science, literature, music, art,etc., can be under the control of the patent. Furthermore, the parentmay exclude certain categories of goods from being made available to thechild for exchange of earned points by the child.

In this consumer-oriented society there are desirable commercialitems--deemed "cool"--that children of various ages want, such aspopular games, toys, movies, clothing, admission tickets to arcade gamesand sporting events, etc. Parents typically spend money to purchasethese items for their children. These items, though usually innocent,frequently do not bring intellectual, cultural, or developmentalbenefits to the children. Often, such items are advertised and promotedthrough mass media that are not designed to educate, enlighten ordevelop, such as television, which at best serve as passiveentertainment. Parents, on the other hand, usually prefer spending moneyon educational, cultural, and developmental products that facilitate theintellectual and emotional growth of their children.

The present invention uniquely fulfills the desires of parents tofacilitate their children's intellectual development, and, at the sametime, provides children with access to the goods and services they mostdesire. Although this goal is accomplished by the system of thepreferred embodiment, other useful applications with perhaps differentgoals than the ones of the disclosed system can be built by personsskilled in the art on the basis of this disclosure.

It is understood that "parent" is not necessarily a biological parent,custodian, or adult authority, and can be anyone who performs the tasksidentified herein with "parent." Such a broad category of users thatperform the tasks generally associated with the parent, as explainedherein, may be referred to as users in the parent category. Similarly,the "child" is not required to have a biological, subservient, ordependent relationship to the parent and can be anyone who performs thetasks identified herein with "child." Such a broad category of usersthat perform the tasks generally associated with the child, as explainedherein, may be referred to as users in the child category. The "centralcomputer system" (also referred to as the "central computer," or"central facility") may include one or more physical computers asdetermined by specific implementation trade-offs, given the constraintsof a particular implementation, as known in the art. In someembodiments, the central computer may comprise computers looselyinterconnected by a computer network.

Educational materials, presentations, and exercises refer to contentused in the preferred embodiment. Preferably, this content includes avariety of educational and cultural presentations and exercises, whichinclude standard textbook-like exercises, spelling, mathematics,history, and geography lessons, reading comprehension, reading anarticle on a subject and answering questions, standardized tests,scientific material and problems, and all other content used foreducational purposes. Other forms of educational and cultural materialscan be provided as well, such as learning about music, art, andtheater--through multimedia presentations, for example--and playingchess. Competitions, in which winning participants earn points, are alsoincluded in the definition. In fact, educational materials include anyand all educational and cultural exercises and material intended toeducate, enlighten, train, or develop. A person skilled in the art willappreciate that in embodiments for purposes unrelated to education,other relevant content can substitute for the educational content of thepreferred embodiment.

In other embodiments, terms such as "parent," "child," and "educationalmaterials and presentations" can have different meaning, and can beentirely unrelated to the education of children. For example, acompany's management can sponsor employee training based on the systemof this invention. In such an embodiment, the company plays the role of"parent," paying for on-line courses, and employees play the role of"children," who earn college credit for their participation. The companyfinances educational courses and optionally exercises some control overthe selected curriculum; employees take courses, which constitutes theirparticipation. "Educational materials" include course lectures andmaterials, assignments, and examinations, while earned "points" arecredits redeemable for college degrees at participating educationalinstitutions.

Educational materials can be provided to the child in a variety of ways.They can be available on the central computer of the service of thisinvention, for example, or provided by third party content providers. Touse them, the child may interact directly with the remote computer ofthe service, or alternatively, they may be downloaded to the child'slocal computer, so that only the resultant tally of earned points issubsequently provided to the central computer for storage. Another waythat the materials can be provided is on a disk, such as a CD-ROM, sothat only the results of the interaction with the child are provided tothe central computer.

A user's computer is any appropriate data processing device available toparticipants in the service provided by the system of this invention. Inthe preferred embodiment, it is a conventional personal computer with amodem (or other network connection), a CD-ROM drive, hard-disk drive,one or more diskette drives, a central processing unit, random accessmemory, color monitor, keyboard, a graphical interactive input device,such as a mouse, and printing devices, such as laser and ink-jetprinters. "User computers" (or "local computers") also can be othercomputer devices that may be used by users of this invention, such as,computer terminals with sufficient intelligence and interfaces, computerworkstations, Internet appliances and TV's, and other computer deviceshaving sufficient processing, storage, input, and display capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood when taken in conjunction withthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates computer architecture and organization of thepreferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the flowchart of log-in procedure;

FIG. 3 illustrates the flowchart of parent dialogues;

FIG. 4 illustrates the flowchart of child dialogues;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the flowchart of a general scenario of aneducational presentation;

FIG. 6 illustrates the flowchart of the purchase subsystem;

FIG. 7 illustrates the flowchart of the new child account dialogue;

FIG. 8 illustrates the flowchart of the parental preferences dialogue;

FIG. 9 illustrates the flow of modify child account dialogue;

FIG. 10 illustrates the flowchart of monitoring child's progress;

FIG. 11 illustrates the flowchart of the feedback manager;

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrates an Entity-Relationship (E-R) diagram forthe system database;

FIG. 13 illustrates the architecture and configuration of theadministrative subsystem;

FIG. 14 illustrates the communication network configuration of thepreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a flowchart of an alternative embodimentimplemented wholly at the local computer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall architecture of the central computersystem in the preferred embodiment. Block 101 illustrates the databasestorage subsystem. In the preferred embodiment, it is one or moremagnetic storage disks organized to support the information storage andretrieval needs of the system disclosed below. Such disks are known inthe art and are available commercially. Also, other physical storagemedia, e.g., optical storage, may be used, as known in the art. In thepreferred embodiment, the entire database storage system is located atthe central computing facility. A person skilled in the art willappreciate that in other embodiments it can be distributed throughoutdifferent sites, including storage at users, local computers. In thepreferred embodiment, each of the remaining blocks shown in FIG. 1 aresoftware modules that execute on a computer or computers located at thecentral facility. (In other embodiments, some or all of these modulescan execute in a distributed computing environment, including users'local computers.)

Block 102 depicts the database management system (DBMS) that providescapabilities typical for such a system, including data retrieval,insertion, and modification, as well as database queries, as is known inthe art. It is used in conjunction with the file system capabilitiesprovided by the native Operating System. In the preferred embodiment,some data, as described below, is not managed by the database managementsystem but is instead handled through the Operating System's file systemdirectly. In the preferred embodiment, the database management system102 is a relational database management system organized to support thedata needs of the system disclosed herein. (In other embodiments, otherdata models, e.g., "hierarchical" and "network," may be used. Direct useof the computer's file system capabilities, which are provided by thecomputer's native Operating System, is possible in some embodiments aswell, which could obviate the need for a database management systemaltogether.) Preferably, database management system 102 is based oncommercially available database management software. Such software ispresently available, for example, as IBM®'s DB2™, ORACLE®'s line ofdatabase management systems, or the INFORMIX® brand of database systems.Specific implementation trade-offs should be considered in selecting thedatabase management system.

Administrative subsystem 103 manages the resources of the system and, asillustrated, is interfaced to the database management system 102. Theadministrative subsystem 103 is used by the system administrator(s) andmanagement for monitoring performance; fraud detection; performancetuning adjustments; adding, deleting, and modifying educational andcultural material and presentations; modifying user data in thedatabase; billing; and system backup and recovery.

The help desk subsystem 104 supports human operators who communicatewith users. The operators deal with problems and concerns of users byanswering questions, providing suggestions, and addressing users'concerns in any other way. The help desk subsystem is also interfaced tothe data base management system 102 to obtain up-to-date informationabout the users and the system. The help desk subsystem softwareincludes capabilities for querying and modifying the system database(block 101) through the database management system. In the preferredembodiment, operators interact with users by voice over telephone and/orinteractively through computer-to-computer communication. The operatorsare provided with networked personal computers interfaced to thedatabase and with telephones. They receive telephone calls and e-maildistributed in accordance with operator queues as known in the art. (Inother embodiments, other methods of communication may be used, such asmail and facsimile.)

The log-in subsystem 120 includes software supporting the log-inprocedure that is used to verify passwords of users who request accessto the system, as well as software for opening new user accounts, asdiscussed in more detail subsequently. On a successful log-in, threesubsystems of the system are available to support interaction with theuser after the log-in subsystem 120 hands-off control to one of thethree. These three subsystems are: parent dialogues, block 105, forfacilitating interaction with the parent, as described in more detailbelow; child dialogues, block 106, for facilitating interaction with thechild, as described in detail below; and feedback manager, block 107,for facilitating interaction between users and the system's management,as discussed in more detail below. The feedback manager 107 is availableto both the parent and the child, whereas, preferably, the parent andchild dialogues subsystems are accessible, respectively, by parents onlyand by children only.

The payment access subsystem, block 108, is implemented using securesoftware, as known in the art, for handling payment transactions. In thepreferred embodiment, payments are handled through credit cards, so thatthe payment subsystem supports interactions with the credit card companyof the parent. In other embodiments, however, it may support other formsof payment, such as e-cash (electronic cash), account withdrawal,ordinary payment by cash, check, or money order, and invoice billing.

The presentation of content subsystem, block 110, delivers, in thepreferred embodiment, educational materials during the child dialogues.This subsystem provides educational materials to the child in responseto inputs received from the child during the child's interaction withthe system. In addition, the presentation of content subsystem 110performs functions connected with the awarding of points on completingan educational assignment.

In the preferred embodiment, the educational materials delivered to thechild by the presentation of content subsystem 110 can be locatedcentrally, i.e., at the database (block 101) of the system, in whichcase the educational presentations subsystem retrieves and activatesthese materials. Preferably, the central computer retrieves softwarefrom the database (block 101) and downloads it to the user's computer,which executes it and then returns the results to the central computer.Alternatively, the educational material software can be executed by thecentral computer, or the execution can be interleaved between thecentral and local computers. In addition to being centrally located,however, educational materials can be wholly or partially resident on anappropriate storage medium, such as magnetic or optical storage, locatedlocally at the user's computer.

In the case that the presentation of the educational materials isexecuted locally, the child chooses a particular presentation, which thepresentation of content subsystem uses to search the database (block 101of FIG. 1). On locating the record of information associated with thechosen presentation for the particular child and finding an indicationthat the chosen presentation resides locally at the user's computer,control is handed to a portion of educational presentation subsystem 110software that executes locally on the user's computer. If the associateddatabase record indicates that software that executes on local computersis stored at the central facility, the central facility retrieves thissoftware from the database, downloads it to the local computer, and thentransfers control to the locally downloaded software.

The locally running software manages the presentation of the educationalmaterial and may administer any examinations that may be associated withthe presentation in order for the child to earn points. On completion,the locally executing software establishes computer communication withthe central computer to transmit the results of the presentation andinteraction, typically the number of points earned, if any, by thechild, for correlation and aggregation with the child's accumulatedpoint total. If the locally-running software had been downloaded fromthe central computer, it is preferably deleted following termination ofits execution.

Other content--"educational materials" in the preferred embodiment--canbe provided by third-party content providers, in which case the database101 may contain only an indication that these presentations areavailable, along with the network location of such material. The thirdparty content can either be downloaded and executed locally at user'scomputer or executed at the third-party computer.

The purchase subsystem 112 manages the purchase of goods and servicesbased on the points accumulated by the child. It is responsible forpresenting appropriate menus of offered goods and services that may beoptionally based on the parents' preferences; taking the child'spurchase requests; ordering chosen products and services fromappropriate vendors, distributors, and service providers; printing acoupon that can be exchanged for the chosen goods or services ifappropriate; and downloading a digital product, or accomplishing thetransaction otherwise. In addition, the purchase subsystem 112 adjuststhe number of points available for further purchases following apurchase. To bill the parents' credit card account for purchases made bythe child, this subsystem is interfaced to the payment access subsystem108. In the preferred embodiment, the purchase subsystem 112 is asoftware module executing wholly on a computer or computers at thecentral facility. (In other embodiments, some or all of this softwarecan execute at various sites, which may include users' local computers.)

The network subsystem 111 handles computer communication with users andthird party content providers by providing access to appropriatecomputer networks. Also, participating commercial entities may beconnected to these networks for electronic ordering of goods andservices. These communications can take place either on the publiclyavailable Internet, using protocols such as TCP/IP, or on privatenetworks. In the preferred embodiment, this subsystem interacts withcomplementary communication software executing on users' localcomputers, third party content providers' computers, participatingcommercial entities' computers, and computer network servers. (In otherembodiments, different arrangements may be found as known in the art.)

FIG. 2 depicts the log-in procedure of the preferred embodiment, whichis illustrated as block 120 of FIG. 1. At block 210, the user gainsaccess through the communications network to the central computer and isthen presented with the log-in screen, in which the system requests theuser to enter a unique identifier, known in the art as a "password," orindicate that a new user registration is desired. The user provides theresponse at the following block 211 at his computer. In the preferredembodiment, in which the services provided by the invention arecontrolled by the central computing facility, the response is thentransmitted to that central computing facility. The user may enter hispassword if he is already registered as a user of the system with anexisting account, or he may indicate that he wishes to establish anaccount on the system and register as a new user.

When a new user wants to establish an account, he is presented with aregistration screen, shown as block 214, that allows him to enternecessary information, which is then stored centrally at the database(block 101 of FIG. 1). Initial registration is typically done by theparent, who provides credit card or other payment information, which isverified before registering passwords for the users (i.e., parents andchildren) associated with the particular account on the system. (Thecredit card account can be verified electronically, or alternatively,using the assistance of an operator.) Typically, at least two passwordsare established for a given account: one for the parent and one for eachchild associated with the parent. In the preferred embodiment, theparent cannot use the child's password to, for example, force the childto redeem points on specific goods and services desired by the parent.Similarly, a child should not know his parent's password, to prevent thechild from changing the payment limit and other preferences establishedby the parent. Preferably, during registration at block 214, the parentalso provides initial preferences regarding the educational material andpurchase guidelines for his child, which is detailed below. Thepreferences can be subsequently changed should the parent so desire.Preferably, these preferences include the amount of money that can becharged/withdrawn for the child's purchase of goods and services eachperiod (e.g., monthly) and the difficulty and sophistication ofeducational material to be presented to the child. The preferences mayalso include the type of goods and services that the child may purchasewhen redeeming points; the type of material to be presented to thechild, for example, verbal, mathematical, literary, artistic,scientific, and musical; and the allowing or disallowing of certainadvertisements to be presented to the child during the course of thechild's interaction with the system. Other preferences can be includedin other embodiments.

When the user enters the password, it is provided to the passwordsubsystem, shown as block 212, where it is verified using known meanswith reference to the collection of known passwords. In the preferredembodiment, the collection of known passwords is stored centrally in thedatabase, block 101 of FIG. 1. If the password is invalid, the systemprovides a message to this effect and terminates the user session atblock 213. Otherwise, the password is valid and the system provides thegeneral presentation screen, shown as block 215, which in the preferredembodiment is a menu of options from which the user may choose. In thepreferred embodiment, this menu includes options to change the password(block 216), view the current status of the account (block 217), sendfeedback messages (suggestions, complaints, and comments) to the systemmanagement (block 107), or proceed directly to the parent or childdialogue. (In other embodiments, other options may be included inaddition to, or in place of, the ones shown here.) As indicated by thearrows pointing back to block 215, blocks 216, 217, and 107 returncontrol to the general presentation screen on completion of their tasks.Finally, the log-in procedure hands off control to either the childdialogue subsystem (block 220) or the parent dialogue subsystem (block221), depending on whether the test in decision box 218 indicates thatthe user who has just logged in is a child or a parent, respectively. Inthe preferred embodiment, this hand-off does not result in return ofcontrol directly to the log-in procedure, as was the case with blocks216, 217, and 107 described earlier.

FIG. 3 depicts the parent dialogues subsystem in the preferredembodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the parent is presented with ahigh-level presentation menu at block 301. In the preferred embodiment,the central computer receives and interprets the parent's response atblock 302. Illustratively, the system initiates the followingcapabilities based on the response from the parent: the parent can opena new child account at block 303, elect to modify an existing one atblock 305, modify parental preferences at block 304, or monitor achild's or children's progress at block 306.

The functions performed at block 303 include giving the parent theopportunity to specify, for example, financial (e.g., credit card)information, preferences regarding educational presentations, andallowable purchases when the parent's child or children redeem points.The functions performed at block 305 include giving the parent theopportunity to modify information unrelated to educational presentationpreferences that was previously presented to the system by the parent atblock 303 or block 305.

At block 306, the parent can receive information regarding his child'sor children's progress. Illustratively, at block 306 the system providesdata to the parent about his child's or children's latest activities onthe system, as well as other data, such as statistics about his child'sor children's progress over time and his child's or children's strengthsand weaknesses. In addition, the parent can view feedback messages sentby his child or children, and can communicate with his children, and, inother embodiments, with other users as well, using e-mail facilities asknown in the art. Other useful data can include, for example, aggregatestatistics (e.g., performance averages) of other children at comparableeducational or age levels, and comparisons of the parent's child orchildren with other children. Other data presented to the parent atblock 306 can include his child's or children's accumulated pointtotals, purchase history, and educational presentation history. At block306, the parent may also view creative works of art, such as, forexample, electronic drawings, music, stories, poems, and othermulti-media creations, produced by his children. (In other embodiments,the parent can view creative works produced by users other than hischildren, and may even have the capability of contributing creativeworks to the system for presentation to other users or for inclusion inthe library of educational presentations maintained by the system.) Theinformation presented to the parent at block 306 is stored in the systemdatabase (block 101 of FIG. 1), or can be computed from data storedthere.

At block 304, the parent is provided with a screen for modifyingparental preferences regarding educational presentations to be made tohis child or children. This includes specifying the child's level ofdifficulty and referred educational materials. This may also include theparent allowing or disallowing the presentation of advertisements to thechild and, if allowing advertisements, specifying categories of ads thatmay or may not be presented (e.g., allowing ads for toys that are onlyof a nonviolent nature, or prohibiting ads for candies and sweets).

When the parent completes interaction with the system at blocks 303,304, 305, or 306, control returns to the presentation menu at block 301,where the parent may select another function or elect to exit.

FIG. 4 depicts the child dialogues subsystem in the preferredembodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the child is presented with a high-levelmenu at block 401. The central computer of the preferred embodimentreceives and interprets the child's response at block 402.Illustratively, the system can initiate the following capabilities basedon the response from the child: the child can request presentation ofeducational material at block 404, elect to make a purchase through aredemption of points at block 112, or communicate with otherparticipants of the system at 406.

If the child's response at block 402 was a request for educationalmaterial, control proceeds to block 404, where the child is given aselection of activities, which are referred to here as "educationalpresentations." For example, these activities may include presentationsthat are followed by--or interleaved with--questions, lessons, homework,exercises, problems, reviews, assignments, projects, examinations,quizzes, puzzles, standardized tests, competitions, tournaments, andcontests. The presentation material can be in the area of literature,mathematics, science, art, language, music, technology, games, such aschess, or any other field as desired in a particular embodiment. Asindicated, in other contexts other suitable material would be used. Inthe example described above concerning corporate employees, "educationalpresentations" would be professional courses and associatedexaminations, technical or vocational training, and the like. Selectionof content, which is educational in the preferred embodiment, depends onthe specific embodiment of the system, and need not necessarily relateto education per se.

Based on the child's selection at block 404, a specific presentationidentified to the system at 404 is provided at block 110, as describedin further detail below. This presentation can be provided bydownloading software to the user's computer from the central computer,interacting locally, and then sending the results of the interaction ina summary form to the central computer; directly interacting with thecentral computer; accessing a third party provider's computer and thensending the results of the interaction in an summary form to the centralcomputer; downloading software from a third party provider and thensending the summary results to the central computer; or using contentthat is already stored at the user's computer and then sending theresults to the central computer. Other modes of remote interaction withusers that are known in the art are also possible, and includecombinations of the methods mentioned above. Upon completion of thegiven presentation at block 110, control returns to block 404 whereanother presentation can be selected, if so desired. If none areselected control returns to block 401.

Considering another choice at block 402, the child can choose to make apurchase by redeeming points through the purchase subsystem at block112. The purchase subsystem at 112 provides necessary information to thechild, such as the number of points accumulated by him and how manypoints may be redeemed, in addition to giving him the capability totransact a purchase. Available products together with their prices inpoints are organized as lists of items, or can be provided as a virtualshopping mall as known in the art. The interaction with the child at thetime of product selection and purchase is described in more detailbelow. The products or services can be delivered to the child in variousways: by sending e-mail to product and service providers, by printingcoupons at the child's computer, by downloading to the user's computer asoftware, music, or art product, and the like. To determine productinformation, e-mail or Internet connection to vendors may be availablefrom the purchase subsystem in some embodiments.

The child may choose to communicate with other users of the system asillustrated at 406. Services such as discussion groups, electronicbulletin boards, and intra-system e-mail may be provided here as knownin the art.

When the child completes interaction with a selected part of the childdialogue subsystem, control returns to the presentation menu at block401, where the child may select another function or elect to exit.

Preferably, all displays provided to users have space available foradvertisements, in order to increase the system's revenue.Alternatively, only certain displays selected by the operator of thesystem of a particular embodiment may contain advertisements. Methodsand systems for including advertisements in on-line or downloadedmaterial are known in the art, and can be implemented using appropriateprogramming languages and tools, such as Java. In some embodiments, aparent may control advertisers' access to displays shown to his child.Selection of advertisement based on parental preferences can be done bygrouping advertisements into appropriate categories, for example, food,entertainment, toys, and the like, and precluding advertisement in thosecategories prohibited by the parent.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a typical scenario of an educationalpresentation in the preferred embodiment. At block 500, the systemdetermines, based on information stored in the database (block 101 ofFIG. 1), where the requested presentation material is stored. It mightbe stored in the system database, on the user's local computer, or at athird party provider's site. (In some embodiments, it may be stored atseveral places simultaneously or its constituent parts may bedistributed across various sites.) If a third party provider is notinvolved, the presentation proceeds under the control of the centralcomputer. In this case, control proceeds to block 501, where the systemretrieves the child's previously saved context for the requestedpresentation from the database. The context is typically saved when, forany reason, the presentation is interrupted and the child exits beforethe presentation completes. The context records the state of thepresentation at the moment of interruption. When a child completes apresentation, the fact that it completed is saved as the context, so asnot to repeat the same presentation.

At block 502, if the saved context is not found for the given child andthe requested presentation, i.e., this is the first time that the childhas requested this presentation, control proceeds to block 503 where thepresentation is started from its beginning. If the saved context isfound at block 502, the system checks at block 505 whether the child hasalready completed the presentation. If so, since it is not productivefor the child to view the same presentation again, the system issues anappropriate message at block 506, and at block 507 control returns toblock 404 of FIG. 4. Otherwise, the system restores the presentationsubstantially to the point of interruption at block 504 based on thecontext retrieved from the system database at block 501. (In someembodiments, it may be possible for a child to view a presentation morethan once).

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict educational presentations that generally containtwo parts: an educational display and an examination. For example, theeducational display might consist of a chapter of a novel, and theexamination might be a series of questions related to the reading. Somepresentations might consist of only one part, i.e., only the display oronly the examination. This might occur, for example, when the childreads a chapter of a novel from a book in his possession, views a livetheatrical performance, or listens to a musical selection on the radioor television, and uses the system of the invention only for theexamination component of the presentation. In such cases, that portionnot required is omitted.

The examination component may be a traditional test, such as acollection of mathematics problems, or can be a more interactiveexercise, such as a chess game or a crossword puzzle. A person skilledin the art will be able to introduce variations on the presentationsdescribed here, such as interleaving the display and examinationcomponents, or using other known variations.

At block 508, a software timer, which provides a time limit on theeducational presentation, is initialized, and at block 509 thepresentation itself is provided to the child. The presentation may bewritten material, such as a magazine article or a chapter of a textbook,or can be graphical or musical material, such as a set of paintings ormusical selections along with explanatory instruction, or it can be anyother content as known in the art. Optionally, a statement specifyingthe goals of the presentation may be provided as part of the displaycomponent or part of the examination component, depending on theapplication. If the display component is to be omitted, the timer can beinitialized to zero; if no time limit is to be imposed on the displaycomponent, the timer can be initialized to a very large number. Controlexits block 509 when the display completes or the timer expires,whichever comes first.

Thereafter, control proceeds to block 520 from where, based on whetherthe child has completed viewing the display or the timer has expired, acontrol branch is made either to block 525 or block 521. In the casethat the timer expired, a message is sent to the child indicating thattime is up, and the system requests feedback from the child regardinghow to proceed. If the child wants to continue with the interruptedpresentation, control returns to block 508 where the child can continuethe presentation; otherwise the system saves the current context in thesystem database and control returns to block 404 of FIG. 4.

When the display component of a presentation is completed by the child,control transfers to block 525, where the child begins the examinationcomponent of the pesentation, which is the portion of the presentationduring which the child can earn "points." At block 525, then, the childis presented with an examination menu. Optionally, the child may selectthe difficulty level of the examination (more difficult levels offeringpotentially more points). The system receives the child's response of anexamination selection at block 526, and, based on the selection, anexamination of appropriate difficulty is provided to the child at block527. As is known in the art, depending on the application, theexamination at block 527 may include multiple choice or true/falsequestions; short, written answers; essays; mathematical or scientificproblems requiring a solution; standardized tests; as well as graphicalor multi-media responses. Other types of examinations as known in theart can also be included. A timer arrangement as discussed above for thedisplay component of the presentation may also be used, as understood bypersons skilled in the art, in the examination portion, so that when aresponse is not received from the child within a certain length of time,the system saves the child's examination context and exits. Upon thecompletion of the examination, then, at block 528, the examination isscored and results are reported to the child. Then, the number of pointsaccumulated by the child is updated in the database at block 529, andcontrol returns to block 404 of FIG. 4.

In the preferred embodiment, the central computer downloads presentationmaterial to the user's local computer. The presentation material is thenpresented to the child from the child's local computer, withoutrequiring interaction with the central system. This downloading ofmaterial takes place after the saved context has been retrieved, asindicated by 540. Since interaction with the central computer is notrequired, the communications link to the user's computer may betemporarily disconnected at this point. At a timeout, the user'scomputer transmits the presentation context to the central systemcomputer for storage there in the system database, and the downloadedpresentation material is deleted from the user's computer. To do this,the child's communication link with the central computer isre-established at this point and communication with the child proceedsfrom there. If no timeout occurs and, instead, the presentationcompletes, i.e., after the score has been established in block 528, thedownloaded presentation material is deleted from the user's computer,which then re-establishes communication with the central computer andtransmits the score there. Since the number of points earned during thepresentation is temporarily stored in the user's local computer, thisdata is preferably encrypted--and decrypted at the central server--toprevent tampering by the user.

The technique described above of downloading educational material to theuser's computer for local interaction is only one way of providing thechild with the presentation. Based on this disclosure, a person skilledin the art may depart from the method described above to create otherembodiments in which educational presentation material is provided inyet other ways. For example, instead of downloading the presentation tothe user's computer, the interaction can proceed continuously with thecentral system computer over the network, the user's local computerfunctioning merely as an intelligent terminal. Intermediate situations,i.e., where the interaction proceeds directly with the central server,but, over the course of the presentation, various pieces are downloadedand executed locally, also may be used for appropriate content. In thecase that all interaction proceeds continuously with the centralcomputer, the user's computer need not store earned points sinceexaminations are scored centrally at the central computer. Also, asnoted, content may be available at the user's computer, in which casethe central computer transfers control to the local computer's softwareand on completion receives the earned points.

If a particular presentation is to be made by an authorized third partycontent provider, the sequence of steps that are carried out to providethe child with the presentation is as follows, as shown in blocks510-513. The central system computer sends a message to the user'scomputer identifying the electronic address (e.g., Internet address, orURL) of the third party provider's presentation. The user's computerconnects to the third party provider and participates in the educationalpresentation by: interacting directly with the third party; downloadingsoftware from the third party; or an intermediate situation as discussedabove. On completion of the presentation, the number of earned points istransmitted from the user's computer to the central computer, ordirectly from the third party's computer to the central system computer,or from the third party's computer to the user's computer, which thentransmits it to the central system computer. The route of transmittaldepends on the chosen application. The central system computer shouldvalidate the third party's activities to ensure, for example, that theprovider does not award an excessive number of points.

FIG. 6 shows the purchase subsystem. Beginning at block 601, the systemretrieves the child's accumulated point total. Control then proceeds toblock 602, where the system retrieves the monetary amount available tothe child at that time. For example, a parent may specify that his childmay spend up to $15 each month, and if no purchases are made over a twomonth period, then $30 is available, but at no time is more than $30ever to be available to the child. Control passes to block 603, wherethe system presents the child with a menu of purchasing choicesconsistent with the child's accumulated point total and availablepurchasing power, as determined in blocks 601 and 602. In addition,items on the menu are consistent with any specified parentalpreferences. For example, the parent may have indicated that toys of aviolent nature are to be precluded. The purchasing choices can also bepresented using an on-line virtual shopping mall, as known in the art.

At block 604, the system receives the child's selection(s), and at block605 initiates and logs the order. Orders can be communicated tosuppliers of goods and/or services by e-mail, postal mail, voicetelephone, or any other means known in the art, and in the preferredembodiment must specify the item(s) that are ordered along with anyrequired features (size, color, model number, catalog number, etc.), thechild's name, and the child's address. Also, depending on the choice,coupons for store credit or entertainment events, for example, can beprinted at the user's computer. In some situations, electronic goods canbe downloaded to the child's computer (a computer game, for example.).At block 606, the parent's credit card account is debited by theappropriated amount, based on the selected item(s). Alternatively, thecredit card may be credited regularly on a periodic basis (e.g.monthly). In this case, the purchase total would be deducted from thetotal accumulated monetary amount, which is stored in the system'sdatabase. Finally, at block 607 the child's accumulated point total isreduced by an amount consistent with the child's purchase, and controlreturns to the child dialogues high-level menu, block 401 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows the new child account dialogue, which allows a parent toopen a new account for a child. Control is passed here from block 303 ofFIG. 3. Starting, then, at block 701, the system provides the parentwith a screen form, requesting that the parent fill in the form andprovide the system with information necessary to open a new account. Theinformation includes, for example, the child's name, address, sex, age,and inclinations; parental preferences regarding presentations,advertising, and purchasing; and payment information, e.g., credit cardnumber and allowable monthly spending limit. At block 702, the systemvalidates the payment information by contacting, electronically, acredit card company or another source consistent with the form ofpayment and, if approved, stores the entered data in the system databaseat block 703. At block 704, the system issues a password for the newlycreated child account, which is presented to the parent. The child hasthe capability of changing the password subsequently.

FIG. 8 depicts the parental preferences dialogue subsystem of thepreferred embodiment (see block 304). At block 801, the system of thepreferred embodiment generates a prompt requesting input of a child'sname, and at block 802 the system reads the entered data representingthe name. Then, at block 803 a database query is made, and if thechild's name is found associated with the parent, control proceeds toblock 804; otherwise, an error message is displayed and control returnsto block 801. Alternatively, at block 801 the system may automaticallyretrieve all the children names associated with the parent and presentan appropriate menu selection, thereby bypassing blocks 802 and 803.

Based on the specified child's name, parental preference data for thespecified child is retrieved from the database (block 101 of FIG. 1) atblock 804, and appropriately displayed to the parent at block 805. Asdiscussed previously, illustratively, the preferences include: type andlevel of difficulty of educational material, preferences regardingadvertising, and preferences regarding goods and services that can bepurchased by the child. Specific preferences depend on the specificimplementation and trade-offs associated therewith. At block 806, theuser interactively changes the preference data, if desired, byspecifying new parameters and, if the new data is valid and consistent,at block 808 it is then stored in the system database. If the systemfinds an error in the entered data, the system issues an appropriatemessage to the parent and control returns to block 806.

FIG. 9 depicts the modify child's account dialogue in the system of thepreferred embodiment (see block 305). At block 851, the system of thepreferred embodiment generates a prompt requesting input of a child'sname, and at block 852 the system inputs the entered name. At block 853,a database query is made to validate that the child's name is indeedassociated with the parent, and, if the entered name is valid, controlproceeds to block 854; otherwise, an error message is displayed to theparent and control returns to block 851. Alternatively, at block 851 thesystem may automatically retrieve all the children's names associatedwith the parent and present an appropriate menu selection, therebybypassing blocks 852 and 853. Then, at block 854 financial informationis retrieved from the system database and displayed appropriately atblock 855. This information includes the form of payment and thespending limit imposed on the given child. The system inputs theparent's modifications to the data at block 856, and validates them atblock 857. The validation step may include contacting a financialinstitution, electronically or through an operator, if limits arechanged significantly or if a payment mechanism has been changed, e.g.,a new credit card number is entered. Optionally, validation can includefraud detection verification that tests for significant or unusuallyfrequent fluctuations in payment limits. Once the new financial data hasbeen validated, it is stored in the system database at 858.

FIG. 10 depicts the monitor child's performance dialogue of thepreferred embodiment. At block 901, the system of the preferredembodiment generates a prompt requesting input of a child's name, and atblock 902 the system inputs the name entered by the parent. Then, atblock 903 the system executes a database query and, if the child's nameis indeed found to be associated with the parent, control proceeds toblock 904; otherwise an error message is displayed and control returnsto block 901. Alternatively, at block 901 the system may automaticallyretrieve all the children's names associated with the parent and presentan appropriate menu selection, thereby bypassing blocks 902 and 903. Atblock 904 the system determines and appropriately displays (block 905)to the parent information regarding his child's participation andperformance, including the total number of points accumulated by thechild, the child's purchase history, and the history of educationalpresentations participated in by the child. In the preferred embodiment,the information is stored in the system database in a separate child logtable associated with each child. Each event concerning a child, e.g.,participation in a particular educational presentation or a purchase, isrecorded in the child's log table by the system. It is retrieved with anappropriate query expressed in a query language, such as SQL, supportedby the database management system (block 102 of FIG. 1). In otherembodiments, other techniques know in the art may be used; for example,a separate log file may be associated with each child, or a single logfile or table recording events associated with all users of the systemmay be used. (Log files need not be under the control of the databasemanagement system--block 102 of FIG. 1--but instead can be managed usingthe file system capabilities provided by the native Operating System.)

FIG. 11 depicts the feedback manager 107, which is used by users to sendsuggestions, complaints, and/or comments to the system administratorsand management. In the preferred embodiment, feedback messages arestored in a separate disk file. The feedback file is not controlled bythe database management system (block 102 of FIG. 1) in the preferredembodiment, but in other embodiments it may indeed be. In the preferredembodiment, feedback messages are appended in a sequential fashion tothe end of the feedback file as they are received from users one at atime.

At block 650 of FIG. 11, then, the user wishing to send a feedbackmessage is given a screen form to complete. In the preferred embodiment,the form has fields for comments, suggestions, and/or complaints, inaddition to other optional fields that may appear, such as the name ofan educational presentation to which the comment/suggestion/complaintapplies. At block 651 the completed form is input by the system, and atblock 652 its contents are appended to the feedback file, as discussedabove. The administrative subsystem (block 103 of FIG. 1) should includesoftware procedures by which system administrators and managersretrieve, read, delete, and generally manage the feedback messagesstored in the feedback file. Software procedures for managing asequential file, such as the feedback file in the preferred embodiment,are known in the art. On completion, control returns to block 215 ofFIG. 2.

FIGS. 12A and 12B depict the organization of the system database (block101 of FIG. 1). Other disk files, not included in the system databasepictured here, are also employed in the preferred embodiment. In variousembodiments of the present invention, these disk files may or may not beunder the control of the database management system (block 102 of FIG.1). In the preferred embodiment, these disk files are created,maintained, and accessed through file system capabilities provided bythe native Operating System, as is known in the art, and not through thedatabase management system. As is known in the art, using disk files forcertain purposes can be more efficient than using elaborate databasemanagement system software. In the preferred embodiment, these separatedisk files are used to store such things as user feedback messages, asdescribed above in conjunction with FIG. 11, and to maintain a log ofsystem activities to be accumulated over time for the purposes ofcollecting historical data. (Historical data is used by systemadministrators and managers to performance tune the system--block 103 ofFIG. 1--and for other purposes as they deem fit.) Other embodiments maychoose to avoid altogether the use of disk files that are not under theauspices of the database management system. In such embodiments, suchthings as feedback messages and historical log files are managed by thedatabase management system.

The system database (block 101 of FIG. 1) is modeled using anEntity-Relationship (E-R) diagram, as is commonly done in the art todescribe a database. The Entity-Relationship modeling technique isdescribed in the text by A. Silberschatz, H. Korth, and S. Sudarshanentitled Database System Concepts, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill Companies,Incorporated, New York, 1997, pp. 23-62, and in the text by R. Elmasriand S. Navathe entitled Fundamentals of Database Systems, SecondEdition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Menlo Park, Calif., 1994,pp. 39-68. (The cited texts are included herein by reference.) As isknown, the database represents and physically stores information, whichin the system of the preferred embodiment is stored physically usingappropriate, e.g., magnetic, electronic, and/or optical, media. In thepreferred embodiment, the database is organized as a relationaldatabase, which are generally described in the above mentioned text byElmasri and Navathe, pp. 137-286; in other embodiments, other dataorganizational models, such as network or hierarchical, may be used.Network and hierarchical data models are described in the abovementioned text by Elmasri and Navathe, pp. 287-390. The items ofinformation contained in the database and the relationships among themare depicted using conventional representation employed for databases,wherein rectangles denote entity sets, ellipses denote attributes,primary-key attributes being underlined, and diamonds denoterelationship sets. As known, attributes can be associated withrelationship sets as well as with entity sets, in which case they aretermed "descriptive attributes." Also, as conventionally known, theindications "1" and "M" illustrate the nature of the relationship set,i.e., one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many, or one-to-one.

Based on the database model shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a person skilledin the art will be able to construct a database for a specificimplementation by appropriately manipulating the informational contentinherent in FIGS. 12A and 12B using known techniques, such as aredescribed in the above mentioned text by Silberschatz, Korth, andSudarshan. The database model depicted in FIGS. 12A and 12B include thefollowing entity sets: child entity set 20, content entity set 21,purchase entity set 22, product entity set 27, vendor entity set 25,parent entity set 23, and credit entity set 24. The child entity set hasa many-to-many relationship set 70 to the content entity set, and aone-to-many relationship set 71 to the purchase entity set. The parenthas a one-to-many relationship set 73 to the child entity set, and amany-to-many relationship set 74 to the credit entity set. The creditentity set has a one-to-many relationship set 72 to the purchase entitysets. The product entity set has a one-to-many relationship set 75 tothe purchase entity set, and a many-to-many relationship set 76 to thevendor entity set.

In the illustrative embodiment, entity set attributes are defined toinclude, but are not limited to, the following, as shown in FIGS. 12Aand 12B. Child entity set 20 attributes include name, password, creditlimit, point accumulation, viewer, parental preferences, and personalpreferences. Attributes name and password form the primary key. Contententity set 21 attributes include title, provider, type, level, andlocation. Attribute title forms the primary key. Purchase entity set 22attributes include purchase order number, quantity, credit cardauthorization number, order status, date, and price. Attribute purchaseorder number forms the primary key. Product entity set 27 attributesinclude item, points required, description, size, and weight. Attributeitem forms the primary key. Vendor entity set 25 attributes includename, address, and phone number. Attribute name forms the primary key.Parent entity set 23 attributes include name, password, mailing address,phone number, and e-mail address. Attributes name and password form theprimary key. Credit entity set 24 attributes include name, card number,expiration date, and name on card. Attributes name and card number formthe primary key.

In the illustrative embodiment, relationship set attributes (termed"descriptive" attributes in the art--see above mentioned text bySilberschatz, Korth, and Sudarshan, p. 28) are defined to include, butare not limited to, the following, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B.Relationship set 70 includes attributes status, and date begun.Relationship set 76 includes attributes vendor's stock number,availability, unit price, tax, and shipping price. In other embodiments,other relationship sets may possess descriptive attributes as well. Asnoted, the database of the preferred embodiment provides physicalcomputer storage for related data.

FIG. 13 shows the overall architecture of the administrative subsystem,which also appears as block 103 of FIG. 1. It is used by the systemadministrator(s) and management for monitoring performance; frauddetection; performance tuning adjustments; adding, deleting, andmodifying educational and cultural material and presentations; modifyinguser data in the system database; billing; and system backup andrecovery. As illustrated, blocks 170, 171, 173, 174, 176, and 177 shownin the figure interface and makes use of the database management system(block 102 of FIG. 1). Some, such as blocks 172, 174, and 175 in thepreferred embodiment, interface and make use of general computerfacilities provided by the native Operating System illustrated as 190.In the preferred embodiment, blocks 170-177 are software modulescomposed of software procedures and program data that perform indicatedtasks.

Block 170 is the billing system, which is the software responsible forbilling users and other parties for monies owed. It is composed ofsoftware components known in the art. Block 171 is the educationalcontent manager, which is a software module responsible for inserting,modifying, and deleting content into/from the system. Block 172 is thefeedback message manager, which retrieves, presents, and deletesfeedback messages from the feedback file, as described above inconjunction with FIG. 11. Block 173 is the fraud detection system, whichis a software module responsible for monitoring user behavior inreal-time and detecting unusual system usage patterns and purchases.When it detects events that signal possible fraudulent behavior, itprints appropriate messages on an administrator's computer screen and/ordisables user accounts in the system database. Block 174 is theperformance manager, which supports the real-time monitoring and tuningof system resources. It provides performance statistics on computerscreens manned by human administrators, and logs system behavior inappropriate log files for later recall, analysis, and study. Inaddition, it monitors the internal state of the system for situationsthat might require drastic intervention, e.g., very high CPU usage, verylow free disk space, and long user response times. The performancemanager provides human administrators with capabilities to tune systemparameters for optimal system behavior. Block 175 is the startup,backup, and recovery manager. It is a software module responsible forstarting up the system when it is down, periodically backing up thedatabase and main memory of the computer(s), and recovering fromhardware/software failures. Block 176 is a software module that providesadministrators with the general capability to query, modify, and deleteall information in the system database not directly connected to usersand their accounts, e.g., vendor data. Block 177 is a software modulethat provides administrators with the specific capability of querying,modifying, and deleting information in the system database connectedspecifically with users and their accounts, e.g., user passwords.

FIG. 14 depicts the communication network of the present invention inthe preferred embodiment. Other embodiments may find it appropriate todeviate from what is shown here based on appropriate economic,marketing, technological, legal, security, reliability, and/orperformance factors. Persons skilled in the art are able to takefactors, such as those mentioned here, into consideration when tailoringthe present invention to a particular application.

Block 910 of FIG. 14, shows the central computing facility, which alsoappears, but with more detail, as FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment,it is connected to a communication network, 911, which is preferably ofa telecommunications type, as known in the art. Preferably, the systemof this invention takes advantage of networking capabilities provided byInternet. As known in the art, a network that is not tied to thetelephone system may also be used, such as a private or semi-privatewide-area network. In some applications, wireless communications means,such as satellite or radio communications, can be used. In otherapplications, local-area networks may also be used. Network 911 depictsthe communications backbone of the present invention.

In addition to the central computing facility 910, other facilities mayalso be connected to the communications network 911. They includeregional servers, two of which are shown as blocks 912 and 913, and alsoone or more secure networks for communicating with credit cardcompanies, one of which is illustrated as 914. Such secure networks usedfor electronic communication with credit card companies are known in theart. Alternatively, the credit card companies, shown as 923 and 924, canbe connected directly to the communications network 911 in someembodiments.

Regional servers 912 and 913 support local communication with localcomputers (915, 916, 917, and 918), vendors' computers (919 and 920),and/or third party content providers' computers (921 and 922). Thoughonly two regional servers are shown for illustrative purposes, a personskilled in the art will appreciate that many such regional servers canbe present in a particular application.

In the preferred embodiment, users' computers 915, 916, 917, and 918 areconnected to regional servers 912 and 913 by telephone dialing throughmodems. Preferably, the telephone calls are local calls, or they can useavailable "800" number services as provided by one or more of thetelephone companies. Such arrangements whereby users have a choice ofmaking either a local call or an "800" call are known in the art. Otherarrangements are also possible, such as dedicated communication lines(telephone or otherwise) between the users and regional servers 912 and913. In some embodiments, communications services can be provided to theusers by organizations other than the telephone companies, and in otherembodiments wireless communications (satellite, optical, or radio, forexample) can be used. Combinations of these methods can also appear, asis known in the art.

Vendors' computers 919 and 920 connect to regional servers 912 and 913,which may or may not themselves also be used to provide communicationsto users' computers 915, 916, 917, and 918. FIG. 14 illustratively showsservers 912 and 913 connected both to users' and vendors' computers, butthat need not necessarily be the case. In some embodiments, some vendorsmay have their own servers. Similarly, third party content providers 921and 922 connect to regional servers 912 and 913, or in some embodimentsmay have their own servers, or share servers with vendors.

As indicated above, various embodiments of the present invention can bebuilt based on this description. For example, a simplified version ofthe system, in which all parents pay the same set fee, can beimplemented. Another possibility is for points to be financed byadvertisers, who provide advertisement displayed in conjunction witheducational content. The advertiser providing advertisement withparticular materials finances points when that material is used and theuser is exposed to the advertisement. In yet another alternative, it isnot necessary for the parent to control content. Instead, based on thedifficulty level of the content, different categories of points areawarded, that is, presentations for different ages (or different typesof audiences) will award different categories of points, correspondingto the age category of the content. The products available for purchaseare also categorized according to different categories of points, sothat older children are not able to "cheat" by completing easy,lower-level exercises and thereby gain access to products that they wantwithout completing an appropriately difficult educational presentation.More sophisticated products can be purchased only with points in anadvanced category. In another embodiment, vendors of products can giverebates, for example, to encourage purchasing of their products.

Although the preferred embodiment is directed to education and culturalenrichment, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that a varietyof diverse applications may be built based on this description. Forexample, vendors of software products may use the system of the presentinvention to give potential buyers an opportunity to preview and exploretheir products. If, for example, the products are computer games, thenin such an embodiment the content would be versions of the gameavailable for purchase. Users would play the games for a limited amountof time and accumulate some points. These points, up to the limitestablished by each vendor, will then be used to provide discounts tousers who decide to purchase, in this example, a game available throughthe purchase subsystem (block 112 of FIG. 1). Thus, users benefit byexperimenting with products and, at the same time, receive discounts;vendors increase user exposure to their products. In such anapplication, the vendors play the role of parent and potential customersplay the role of children.

Software of the preferred embodiment executes both at the centralfacility and at the user computer, the reason being to enhanceperformance given present hardware and communications constraints. Inother embodiments, the system of this invention may be implementedcompletely at the central facility remote to the user, with the usercomputer running only a communication interface and Internet browser,that is, the service may be accomplished as an Internet service, wherethe only software executing on the user's machine is a conventionalInternet browser, such as those available from Microsoft® and Netscape®.Further, the system can be implemented based on an Internet TVappliance, where the user interacts, essentially, using a remote controlfor selection and response.

Another alternative implementation, as understood by persons skilled inthe art, is one in which most of the functions of the system of thisinvention are performed in the local computers. Parental preferenceinformation would be stored at the local computer as well as theaccumulated number of points earned by the child. The educationalmaterials also would be provided locally, e.g. on CD-ROMs, and theresults of the interaction would be stored locally. In such animplementation, central access can be simplified and used lessfrequently. It might be used, for example, only to make a purchasetransaction.

In a further embodiment, all central interaction may be eliminated. Insuch an embodiment, educational materials are provided on disks, e.g.CD-ROMS, or as content downloaded from remote sources. All interactionwith the user takes place locally. The local computer scores responsesand provides awards as an electronic equivalent of cash, securely storedin the local computer, and subsequently usable for Internet shopping.When all the available awards have been provided to the user, the usermay continue using the materials without receiving rewards, orinteraction with educational materials could be disabled.

In another variation of this embodiment, instead of providing rewards aselectronic cash, upon successful completion of the educationalmaterials, a store or entertainment event certificate would be printedon the local computer's printer. A user may be provided with a choice ofsuch rewards. For example, a menu presenting choices of differentcertificates consistent with the number of accumulated points ispresented to the user.

Yet another form of reward that can be had by redeeming points in thisembodiment is the gaining of access to computer games stored on the samemedium as the educational materials themselves. That is, for differentamounts of accumulated points, computer games stored on the same mediumbecome available to a user in exchange for accumulated points. Further,the fact that the system owes the user a particular reward can be storedon the same medium as the educational materials, e.g. on the same disk,in encrypted format. The reward would be redeemable by a user bringingthe medium, e.g. disk, to a vendor, who, using decoding equipment,decodes the reward-related information, thereby enabling the user toreceive his reward. In addition, the reward can be stored as money on a"smart card" or, for example, on a card provided by a transportationdepartment authority, as a value redeemable for transportation rides. Ina further stand-alone embodiment, the content can be recorded on a smartcard and the rewards would be stored as money available through the useof the smart card.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate one alternative stand-alone embodiment,which is provided, for example, as a CD-ROM. A program on such a CD-ROMis executed exclusively on a user's local computer. At block 750, themenu of available materials is presented to the user. At block 751, theuser makes a selection and at block 152 the system checks the hard driveof the local computer to determine whether the educational material hasbeen already completed. If so, control returns to block 750. Otherwise,at block 753 the user is provided with the ability to interact with theeducational material. (When awards are no longer available, the test atblock 752 is skipped.)

At block 754, the score representing the results of the interaction isdetermined, and is then aggregated with the accumulated point value atblock 755. At block 756, the system determines if further rewards areavailable, and if, all the rewards have been used, control returns to750. In some embodiments, when all the rewards have been depleted, theprogram becomes disabled. If rewards are still available, at block 757the menu of such rewards is presented. After a selection has been madeat block 759, the user is provided with the chosen reward using anappropriate method as discussed above. Subsequently, at block 760 thepoint value and at block 761 the reward value are decreased consistentwith the chosen reward. Finally, control returns to block 750, where theuser is given an option to continue or to terminate the program.

It should be noted that this stand-alone embodiment is also applicableto uses outside of the field of education. For example, an interestinggift may be created through a collection of games accompanied byredeemable rewards earned as a result of playing the games. For example,a telephone company may distribute such disks as promotions, where theearned points are translated into certificates redeemable for telephoneservice. Also, smart-cards that combine content and monitory valuerelated to content can be used as such gifts.

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specificembodiments described herein. Indeed, various modifications of theinvention in addition to those described herein will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the foregoing description and accompanyingfigures. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of theappended claims. Doubtless numerous other embodiments can be conceivedthat would not depart from the teaching of the present invention whosescope is defined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A computer system, comprising:electronic means for enablinga user in a child category of users to interact with content comprisingat least one of educational and cultural materials; electronic means forelectronically maintaining points providing a measure of interactionwith the content by a user in the child category of users; electronicmeans for enabling a user in the child category of users to obtain oneor more items of value on the basis of the points; and electronic meansfor enabling a user in a parent category of users for controlling andfinancing items of value that at least one corresponding user in thechild category obtains.
 2. The computer system of claim 1 furthercomprising electronic means for enabling a user in the parent categoryof users to specify types of content that are available for selection byat lest one corresponding user in the child category of users.
 3. Thecomputer system of claim 1 further comprising electronic means forenabling a user in the parent category of users to specify items ofvalue that are available to at least one corresponding user in the childcategory of users.
 4. The computer system of claim 1 further comprisingelectronic means for enabling a user in the parent category of users tospecify advertisement for display to at least one corresponding user inthe child category of users.
 5. A computing facility electronicallycommunicating with local computers, which are provided for a child and aparent categories of users, using at least one communication network,comprising:memory storing a database; a first subsystem for the childcategory of users to gain access to a desired content comprising atleast one of educational and cultural materials; a second subsystem forenabling a user in the child category to obtain one or more items ofvalue on the basis of points representing a measure of the user'sinteraction with content; and a third subsystem for enabling users inthe parent category of users for controlling and financing the items ofvalue obtainable by the users in the child category.
 6. The computingfacility of claim 5 wherein the third subsystem further comprises meansfor a user in the parent category to specify content available for atleast one user in the child category.
 7. The computing facility of claim6 wherein the third subsystem further comprises means for a user in theparent category to specify items of value available to at least one userin the child category.
 8. The computing facility of claim 7 furthercomprising a feedback subsystem for users of the parent and childcategories to communicate with system administration.
 9. The computingfacility of claim 5 wherein at least some of the content is stored inthe memory of the computing facility.
 10. The computing facility ofclaim 5 wherein at least some of the content is stored at a third partyprovider's computer.
 11. The computing facility of claim 5 wherein atleast some of the content is stored in at least some of the localcomputers.
 12. A computer method comprising:electronically providing auser in a child category of users with access to selected contentcomprising at least one of educational and cultural materials;electronically maintaining a number of points representative of theuser's in the child category interaction with the content;electronically ordering an item of value on the basis the points andfinancial data in electronic form provided by a user in a parentcategory of users.
 13. The method of claim 14 further comprisingelectronically restricting the user in the child category from accessingcertain content on the basis of input provided by the user in the parentcategory.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising electronicallydisplaying advertisement to the user in the child category.
 15. Themethod of claim 12 further comprising downloading content to a localcomputer of the user in the child category and, uploading the results ofthe user's interaction with the content from the user's local computerto the remote computer.
 16. A computer system comprising:electronicmeans for providing to a child, interacting with a local computer,education materials; electronic means for awarding the child pointsbased on the child's performance during interaction with the educationalmaterials; and electronic means for enabling the child to redeem thepoints so as to obtain goods or services; and electronic means forenabling a parent for controlling and financing the goods or servicesobtained by the child.
 17. The system of claim 16 further comprisingmeans for selecting by the parent the educational materials that can bepresented to the child.
 18. The system of claim 16 further comprisingmeans for providing a parent with a capability for controllingadvertisements presented to the child.
 19. A computer methodcomprising:electronically enabling a child to interact with educationalmaterials; electronically awarding the child points based on the child'sperformance during interaction with the educational materials; andelectronically enabling the child to redeem the points so as to obtaingoods or services; and electronically enabling a parent for controllingand financing the goods or services obtained by the child.
 20. Themethod of claim 19 further comprising electronically enabling the parentto select the educational materials that can be presented to the child.21. The method of claim 19 further comprising electronically providing aparent with a capability of controlling advertisements presented to thechild.
 22. An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readablemedium storing therein a computer program that controls computersoftware components comprising: computer software for presenting contentcomprising at least one of educational and cultural materials to a userin a child category, computer software for receiving responses to thepresented content, computer software for determining scored points basedon the responses, computer software for controlling awarding an item ofvalue based on the points, and computer software for enabling a user inthe parent category for controlling and financing the item of value. 23.The article of claim 22 wherein the item of value is an electronicrepresentation of money.
 24. The article of claim 22 wherein the item ofvalue is a certificate.